Projects
Combining photoporation with electrophoresis for improved transfection of hard-to-transfect cells Ghent University
Intracellular delivery of high molecular weight biological molecules is a prerequisite both for fundamental cell biological research as well as for the production of engineered therapeutic cells. This project aims at substantially improving this process for hard-to-transfect cells by combining the strengths of photoporation and electrophoresis, two unrelated techniques that belong to the respective expertises of both promoters.
Replic-ON project – Pioneering the investigation of self-amplifying messenger RNA electroporation for long-lasting ex vivo transfection of immune cells. University of Antwerp
Innovation mandate with spin-off: Photoporation for in vitro / ex vivo transfecting of cells Ghent University
Optimizing the laser-induced photoporation technology (expanding the transfection portfolio, including larger nucleic acids and plant cells) and translating it into a disruptive, market-worthy product portfolio (device and reagents) and demonstrating the added value compared to the current state-of-the-art transfection methods adhv some user cases.
- increasing the transfection efficiency of large, (negatively charged) molecules. Here it ...
MERKEL CELL CARCINOMA, TOWARDS THE IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL MOLECULAR TARGETS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL CELL CULTURE MODEL KU Leuven
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma. Nevertheless, its incidence has increased in the last few years and this trend is predicted to persist. Furthermore, with a general mortality rate of 33-46% and a high rate of recurrences, it is one of the most aggressive types of skin cancer. Currently, MCC has two recognized etiologies. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) DNA is found clonally integrated in the genome of ...
Development and optimization of cell culture protocols for studying cell-nanoparticle interactions Ghent University
inorganic and organic materials show unique properties when engineered at the nanoscale,
which opens up a myriad of novel applications. In the context of medicine, organic
nanoparticles (NP) are often applied as carriers for insoluble drugs or macromolecules, such
as nucleic acids (NA). The latter require packaging into a nanocarrier to ...
In-flow cell electroporation with single-cell level control using impedance spectroscopy Hasselt University
Microvascular remodeling for beta(-like) cell differentiation, regeneration and transplantation Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Adoptive Cell Therapy Inspired On Neo-antigens (ACTION) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
by the immune system. When presented in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins, neoantigens can be bound by
high avidity T-cell receptors (TCRs) of cognate T cells, enabling selective tumor cell elimination. Hence, neoantigens
are used to develop personalized cancer immunotherapies. The overall project aim is to ...
Exploring the market potential of photoporation as the next generation of intracellular delivery technology for the R&D and cell therapy markets Ghent University
Delivering macromolecular compounds into living cells in vitro or ex vivo is a common requirement for both fundamental biological research as well as biomedical applications. Examples include the intracellular delivery of gene editing molecules to unravel molecular pathways or to create engineered therapeutic cells. Photoporation, which combines laser irradiation with light-sensitive nanomaterials, is an upcoming physical intracellular ...